1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing clip for fixing an attachment member, such as a garnish for a land vehicle, to a designated panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. 6-22610 shows an earlier fixing clip.
A typical fixing clip consists of a grommet, a pin and a seal cap. The grommet is composed of a cylindrical body, a flange formed on an upper edge of the cylindrical body and a plurality of leg pieces provided on an underside of the cylindrical body so as to be extensible through slits. The pin of the fixing clip is in the form of a rod which is to be inserted into the cylindrical body of the grommet. The rod has engagement grooves formed on an intermediate periphery of the rod, for engagement with inward projections of the leg pieces of the cylindrical body. The seal cap is in the form of a cylindrical envelope with a flange and is constructed so as to accommodate the grommet therein.
When fixing the attachment member, such as the garnish, to the panel by means of the fixing clip, the seal cap is first attached to an attachment hole in the panel through the flange. Next, while allowing an inlet of the seal cap to coincide with an insertion hole formed in the attachment member, the grommet is inserted into the seal cap through the insertion hole of the attachment member, together with the pin temporarily assembled to the grommet in advance. Thereafter, when the pin is urged into the grommet perfectly, the engagement grooves of the pin engage with the inward projections of the leg pieces, so that they are spread outward inside the seal cap. In this way, the fixing of the attachment member to the side of the panel is completed.
Thus, according to the conventional fixing clip, it is possible to fix the attachment member to the panel while ensuring the water-tightness at the fixing point owing to the seal cap. However, since the seal cap is in the form of the cylindrical envelope in size allowing the cylindrical body of the grommet to be simply accommodated in the seal cap, the expansion of the leg pieces of the grommet by means of the pin requires expanding the seal cap by force while forcibly deforming the seal cap.
Therefore, it goes without saying that to shove the pin into the grommet is a burdensome task for a worker. In particular, unless the seal cap is sufficiently deformed corresponding to the expansion of the respective leg pieces, there is a possibility of lowering the engagement force of the seal cap against the periphery of the attachment hole in the panel due to an insufficient amount of expansion of the leg pieces.